In every cook’s kitchen, there is a treasured tool: a workhorse utensil, go-to gadget, or a family heirloom with its own background story and the lofty standing of being a cook’s most-prized possession. These beloved items say as much about the cook as their style of cooking. They tell stories about a cook’s past and about the moments that led them to where they are today. For some, it might be a spoon inherited from a grandmother’s silver set, which they use to taste every sauce. Or it could be a spaetzle maker picked up during a stage in Germany that’s been used during every job since. Whether it’s a colander, cake stand, or a grandfather’s iron skillet, every chef has a piece in their arsenal that gives a glimpse into their cooking history, their philosophy, and their technique. In the enlightening kitchen compilation A Colander, Cake Stand, and My Grandfather’s Iron Skillet, author Erin Byers Murray collects stories from 37 top chefs about their favorite kitchen utensil. The stories, told in the chef’s own words, include the tale of how they came to acquire it, the details that it so essential, and insight into why—and when—they rely on it. Along with each story, the chef provides a recipe utilizing the particular tool or something similar, so that home cooks can try their hand at a professional chef’s approach. Laid out with a minimalist’s design and featuring fine-point illustrations of the tools as well as beautiful color photographs of each recipe, A Colander, Cake Stand, and My Grandfather’s Iron Skillet reveals the personalities of some of America’s best and hardest working chefs, while giving readers a keepsake of recipes to go along with an insider’s guide to some of the most treasured – and essential -- kitchen tools in the country. Featured in A Colander, Cake Stand, and My Grandfather's Iron Skillet are some of today's most respected chefs including, among others, Jody Adams, Chris Kimball, Anne Willan, Andrew Zimmern, Norman Van Aken, Linton Hopkins, Joanne Chang, Slade Rushing, Jeremy Sewall, Ken Oringer, Jonathan Benno, Rob Newton, Chris Shepherd, Steven Satterfield, Virginia Willis, Ford Fry, and Kevin Gillespie.

J. Kenji Lopez-Alt shows that cooks don't need a state-of-the-art kitchen to cook perfect meals. In a book centred on much-loved dishes, Kenji explores the science behind searing, baking, blanching and roasting. In hundreds of easy-to-make recipes with over 1,000 full-colour images illustrating step-by-step instructions, readers will find out how to make perfect roast turkey with crackling skin, how to make extra fluffy or creamy scrambled eggs and much more. Combining the unrelenting curiosity of a cheerful science geek with the expert knowledge of a practised chef, The Food Lab gives readers practical tools and new approaches to apply when they next step into the kitchen.

J. Kenji Lopez-Alt's debut cookbook, The Food Lab, revolutionised home cooking, selling more than half a million copies with its science-based approach to everyday foods. For fast, fresh cooking for his family, there's one pan Lopez-Alt reaches for more than any other: the wok. Whether stir-frying, deep frying, steaming, simmering or braising, the wok is the most versatile pan in the kitchen. Once you master the basics?the mechanics of a stir-fry and how to get smoky wok hei at home?you're ready to cook home-style and restaurant-style dishes from across Asia and the West, from Kung Pao Chicken to Pad Thai to San Francisco-Style Garlic Noodles. Lopez-Alt breaks down the science behind his beloved Beef Chow Fun, fried rice, dumplings, tempura vegetables and seafood and dashi-simmered dishes. Featuring more than 200 recipes?including simple no-cook side dishes?instructions on knife skills and pantry stocking alongside more than 1,000 colour photographs, The Wok provides endless ideas for brightening up dinner.

Pipo thinks that pizza is the best. No, Pipo knows that pizza is the best. It is a scientific fact. But when she sets out on a neighbourhood-spanning quest to prove it, she discovers that "best" might not mean what she thought it means. Join Pipo as she cooks new foods with her friends Eugene, Farah, Dakota, and Ronnie and Donnie. Each eating experiment delights and stuns her taste buds. Is a family recipe for bibimbap better than pizza? What about a Moroccan tagine that reminds you of home? Or is the best food in the world the kind of food you share with the people you love? Warm and funny, with bright, whimsical illustrations by Gianna Ruggiero, Every Night Is Pizza Night is a story about open-mindedness, community and family. With a bonus pizza recipe for young readers to cook with their parents, Every Night Is Pizza Night will make even the pickiest eaters hungry for something new.

It's a quandary shared by adventurous and indecisive drinkers alike: What should I drink tonight? Here to answer that question is Be Your Own Bartender. Through more than a dozen flowcharts, the book poses a series of questions designed to lead readers to their ideal drink. With more than 151 original recipes, there's a cocktail for every mood, taste and occasion. Are you after something tequila-based or gin-based? Do you like gin or really like gin? Are you ready to break out the muddler? And is your night winding down or just getting started? Whatever the answers, Be Your Own Bartender leads you to your destination-a cocktail effectively designed just for you. With some drinks that are truly adventurous and others that are friendlier to the cocktail novice, every recipe is created with the home bartender in mind. Divided into chapters by spirit-with bonus flowcharts for brunch drinks, holiday parties and true cocktail nerds-Be Your Own Bartender is the best way to discover the perfect cocktail for you, in a journey as user-friendly as it is fun.

Make the best baked goods-pretzels, pizzas, pies-you've ever made- along with pancakes, slab ice cream, and much, much more. Most people know the landmark Modernist Cuisine books for their groundbreaking scientific culinary techniques. But the most relevant finding to come from their lab is that the thermodynamics of home baking can be transformed by a simple slab of steel. That fact led Andris Lagsdin, a former chef who had returned to work at his family's steel manufacturing company, to create the Baking Steel, a plate of metal that serves as supercharged pizza stone, griddle, slab ice cream maker, and more. In this book, you'll find recipes and innovative techniques for a truly transformative piece of kitchen equipment. In BAKING WITH STEEL, readers will learn how to achieve restaurant-quality baked goods, make grilled meats a la plancha, and make pizza crust with a crunch and char home cooks have previously only dreamed of. Above all, this book is the companion book to the tool that is quickly becoming a must-have item for serious cooks and bakers, one that puts niche pizza stones and skillet pans to shame.